Canada’s chief of the defence staff says multiple global threats and military needs keep her up at night, but her top priority is boosting the number of people in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson at the Halifax International Security Forum in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Gen. Jennie Carignan said she’s pushing for recruitment to exceed 10 per cent of the military’s end-of-year goal if that target is met ahead of time, with an overall objective of returning to “full strength” in five years.
“If we get close to the end of the year and we are at target, we’re not going to stop,” she said. “If we can go above, we will.”
She added steps have been taken to streamline the recruiting process, and that work needs to be done to properly train those new recruits quickly and get them into service.
The Department of National Defence says the Canadian Armed Forces is roughly 16,500 members short of its authorized target strength outlined in the updated defence policy.
That’s added to concerns regarding Canada’s military readiness that has earned criticism from NATO allies, particularly the United States, as Canada continues to miss NATO’s benchmark of spending at least two per cent of GDP on defence.
Ottawa says it plans to reach that target by 2032 and has already taken several steps to boost spending and procurement to meet its NATO commitments, yet concerns remain about whether the government’s plan is feasible.
Beyond personnel, Carignan said she’s also prioritizing security and defence of the Arctic, where both Russia and China have encroached on Canada’s sovereignty.
In contrast to previous years, Carignan said the deepening bond between Moscow and Beijing has led to more collaboration between the two counties.
“We used to see presence from both of them, but now they come in, whether it’s through joint exercises or joint patrols, whether it’s via maritime ways or in the air as well,” she said.
She added Russian and Chinese research vessels that are “constantly” navigating the Arctic are also gathering intelligence.
Carignan said more investment is needed to modernize and expand existing detection capabilities in the Arctic. Although the government has committed billions of dollars to over-the-horizon radar systems in the North, she said procurement needs to be sped up to urgently get those systems in place.
Incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is expected to put pressure on allies to step up its defence spending and burden-sharing, which could put Canada in the crosshairs.
But Carignan said she’s focused on maintaining Canadian sovereignty in a way that proves the country’s seriousness on defence to the U.S.
“I am very seized with our responsibilities,” she said.
“This is a key priority and definitely where we concentrate a lot of our efforts.”
She said any potential settlement to the war in Ukraine — including a negotiated deal that gives Russia some of the land it has occupied since its invasion in 2022 — “is not going to modify” Canada’s efforts to reinforce its brigade in Latvia, which is scheduled to be fully operational by 2026. The brigade is a key part of NATO’s eastern defensive line in Europe.
“We will need to look at our own involvement and contribution to Ukraine’s stability going into the future,” she said.
“So, of course, we’re going to be watching and monitoring and adapting with the information that will be coming, that’s for sure.”